


Let It Hurt

by WeirdyMcWeirderton



Series: Avery Series [4]
Category: Leverage
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-20
Updated: 2014-07-20
Packaged: 2018-02-09 17:27:57
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,586
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1991520
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WeirdyMcWeirderton/pseuds/WeirdyMcWeirderton
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Avery and the Leverage team go on another job together. Only this time, Avery's helping. Will the team be able to take down the corrupt leader in time to save Avery from getting hurt? Or will they be too late?  Sequel to Til My Last Day.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

DISCLAIMER: I own nothing of Leverage, characters or otherwise. The only thing I own is Avery.

“Dad!”  
Eliot turns around in his seat, looking over to see Avery enter the apartment. She practically skips over to him, slapping a flyer on the counter in front of him. Eliot looks down at it, looking it over. He looks back up at her, eyebrows raised.  
“The karate dojo is hosting an in-house tournament with their sister schools,” Avery says.  
“And you want to do it,” Eliot says.  
“Can I? Its forty dollars,” Avery says.  
“I don’t see why not,” Eliot says.  
“Oh and um…” Avery begins. Eliot looks over at her.  
“What?” Eliot asks.  
“I was able to convince Master Galati to let me fight in the men’s division. He said he’d let me since I’d be the only female black belt. He just needs you to sign something saying that’s okay,” Gracilynn says, watching her dad.  
“Is that what you want?” Eliot asks, studying her.  
“Yes, definitely,” Avery says, determinedly.  
“Okay,” Eliot says, taking the permission slip from Avery.  
“You can’t seriously be letting her do this?” Sophie asks.  
“Why not?” Eliot and Avery ask at the same time.  
“Their men,” Sophie says as if it’s obvious, “They have her by a foot and at least 100 pounds. One hit and she could get really hurt.  
“We use control Sophie,” Avery says, “No contact to the head and only slight contact to the body.  
“Accidents happen,” Sophie argues.  
“I want to do this. I can do this. I’m good at martial arts. Which means it doesn’t matter if I fight the girls or the boys,” Avery argues.  
“She has a point,” Eliot says, “You can’t choose who you fight on the street. I’d rather her fight the men anyways. I want her to be comfortable seeing a guy charge at her. No need for her to freeze up when it really happens.”  
Eliot signs the permission slip and hands it back to Avery. Avery takes it with a grin. She folds it up, sticking it in her back jeans pocket.  
“Oh and um… I need forty dollars for the tournament,” Avery says. Eliot looks up at her.  
“You’re starting a little early with that don’t ya think?” Eliot asks, earning a smirk from Avery. Eliot sighs but pulls out his wallet, handing Avery forty dollars.  
“Thanks,” Avery says, pocketing the money as well. Avery turns to leave, stopping abruptly when she sees the guy on the screen. “John Lackey? Why do you have him on the screen?”  
“Wait, you know this guy?” Nate asks, pointing at the screen.  
“Well, yeah. He only holds the biggest Martial Arts tournament on this side of the Mississippi. Maybe even the country,” Avery says, walking back to the counter. “Wait, is he the bad guy?”  
“Yeah, he is,” Nate answers.  
“Does this have anything to do with that kid who almost died?” Avery asks. She climbs up onto one of the stools next to her dad.  
“What do you know about it?” Eliot asks her.  
“Not much. Just what the news said. That in the middle of the fight the kid got kicked and fell to the ground, smacking his head. He ended up getting a concussion and landed in a coma. The family said it was negligence on Lackey’s part. They could never prove it though,” Avery says.  
“Yeah, well the Collers explained that there is a group of kids that come to the tournament every year. They’re called…uh, Bad Boys,” Nate says.  
“Bad Boys? Really? ‘Cause that’s not corny,” Avery replies, making a face.  
“They’re out to hurt contestants, cheering when they do. They said this isn’t the first time someone’s gotten hurt by these guys but John Lackey keeps letting them participate knowing full well how dangerous they are,” Nate continues.  
“So, you guys…?”  
“Are going to get Lackey to hang himself. Kids are getting hurt but parents can’t do anything because they signed a contract saying they won’t sue because their child was injured,” Nate explains.  
“He’s got a tournament coming up next week,” Avery says.  
“And that’s our way in,” Nate says, looking at the screen.  
“Isn’t it gonna look fishy if we show up and we aren’t watching a contestant?” Parker asks.  
“She’s got a point,” Hardison points out.  
“Eliot will do it,” Nate replies.  
“It says here, participants have to be under eighteen,” Hardison says, pulling up Lackey’s website.  
“So I’ll do it,” Avery says.  
“What? No way,” Eliot says, “I’m not gonna knowingly put you in danger.”  
“Fine, but when you guys get arrested for stalking, I ain’t bailing you out,” Avery says, climbing off the stool and heading to the table. She takes a seat and pulls out her homework.

\------------------------------------------------

“Dammit Hardison!” Eliot grumbles entering the apartment. Avery looks up from the table to see the team walk in. Her dad is holding a wad of paper towels to his nose. Avery raises an eyebrow, finding the scene comical.  
“What the hell happened to you?” Avery asks Eliot, trying not to smirk.  
“He ran in to a door,” Parker says, then turning to Eliot and reaching for said nose, “Shouldn’t you squeeze it?”  
“Don’t. Touch it,” Eliot growls, glaring at her.  
“You ran in to a door?” Avery asks, trying to figure out how he did this.  
“It wouldn’t have happened if Hardison had done his damn job,” Eliot complains gruffly.  
“Hey, how was I supposed to know the doors re-lock themselves after someone enters or leaves,” Hardison defends.  
“By doing your damn homework Hardison,” Eliot says angrily, chucking the towel in the garbage and accepting the ice pack from Avery.  
“I did my homework. It says nothing about the doors doing that,” Hardison argues.  
“You know what? Next time I’m gonna do my homework like you did. That way when you get punched in the face…” Eliot says.  
“Alright,” Nate says, interrupting, “It’s not a big deal.”  
“Not a big deal?” Eliot growls, taking off the ice pack and pointing to the two black eyes beginning to form. “This isn’t a big deal? I look like a raccoon.”  
“How hard did you hit it?” Avery asks.  
“Hard,” Parker says, “It was so funny.”  
Eliot shoots her a glare, practically growling at her.  
“We were being chased by dogs and Eliot plowed through the door,” Parker says.  
“Only the door didn’t move,” Eliot says, shifting his glare towards Hardison.  
“One minute he was in front of me, the next he was on the floor. His face when he hit it looked like the ones in the cartoons,” Parker adds, laughing at the memory.  
“So, let me get this straight,” Avery says, “You’ve gone up against assassins, Russians, mobsters, and other hitters and you get taken out by a door?”  
Parker snorts and Hardison smirks. Eliot scowls.  
“You know what? Let me lock a door, then you can run full speed at it and then you can make fun of me,” Eliot says, irritated.  
“Alright. Okay,” Nate says, effectively putting an end to the bickering. “We have to go to Plan C.”  
“Is that the one where I do the tournament?” Avery asks, jumping at the opportunity.  
“No, that’s Plan K,” Nate says.  
“Okay, so let’s do Plan K then,” Avery says.  
“Avery,” Eliot warns.  
“What?” Avery asks innocently.  
“Avery, Eliot’s right. There’s no sense putting you in danger,” Sophie says.  
“It’s the most logical way though, right?” Avery asks. Sophie studies her for a minute.  
“You’ve already signed up for the tournament haven’t you?” Sophie asks. The team looks over at her, all of them studying her. Eliot breaks the silence first when Avery gives him a guilty grin.  
“Dammit Avery,” Eliot growls. “Unregister. Now.”  
“I can’t. Once you’re registered, you can’t unregister. No refunds,” Avery says.  
“Fine. You’re still not going,” Eliot says.  
“Dad, come on,” Avery pleads, “We help people right?”  
“No, we help people,” Eliot says, point at himself and the team. “You stay safe,” Eliot says.  
“Yeah, well last time I stayed safe, my best friends got killed,” Avery argues, looking her dad dead in the eyes. They have a stare down before Eliot sighs.  
“Fine. But I’m with you at all times and when I say get out, you get out,” Eliot says, caving in reluctantly.  
“Okay,” Avery agrees.  
“So, the tournament is in three days,” Hardison says, pulling up all the information.  
“Yeah, this Saturday,” Avery confirms.  
“All right, here’s the plan,” Nate says.

\----------------------------------------------

Avery looks up from the book she’s reading, hearing a knock at the door. She has no clue who it can be; they were all here at Nate’s. It was the day of the tournament and the team was getting last minute things together. Eliot walks by and opens the door, saying hi to whoever it is. Avery couldn’t see because her dad was standing in the way. She doesn’t have to wait long though, because her dad steps to the side to let Shelley in. Avery grins, setting down her book.  
“Shelley! Hey!” she says walking over and giving him a hug.  
“Hey kid,” Shelley says, returning her hug. Avery pulls away.  
“What are you doing here?” Avery asks.  
“Well, I can’t go to the tournament as your dad if I’m taking over as your center judge,” Eliot says.  
“So, you’re posing as my dad,” Avery says to Shelley.  
“Yeah. God help me, but yeah,” Shelley says with a smirk. Avery smack him lightly in the arm.  
“What are you talking about? I’m the perfect daughter,” Avery says. Eliot, Hardison, and Nate all instantly snort and begin debating against this. Avery rolls her eyes, but can’t hide the smirk, knowing they’re all picking on her. Nate takes a look at the clock and claps his hands together.  
“All right. We’re all here? Let’s go steal a tournament,” Nate says, walking out the door. Eliot hands Avery her gear bag and the rest of them follow after Nate.

\------------------------------------------------

“So, what’s the whole story with these guys?” Shelley asks.  
“John Lackey…” Eliot begins.  
“That famous guy with the really big tournament?” Shelley asks.  
“Yeah. Turns out he’s been making a deal with a group called the ‘Bad Boys’,” Eliot continues, only to be interrupted again.  
“Bad Boys?” Shelley asks, eyebrow raised.  
“I know corny right?” Avery asks. Shelley nods his head in agreement.  
“Lackey’s been taking money from them to allow them to continue coming to the tournament even after they’ve hurt numerous kids,” Eliot says.  
“Wow. What about the judges?” Shelley asks.  
“Being paid off not to disqualify them,” Eliot answers.  
“Speaking of,” Hardison says, handing Eliot a piece of paper. “This is the letter Lackey sends to all of his judges and here is your drivers’ license saying you are Bryan James.”  
Eliot takes the license and puts it in his wallet along with the paper. He looks over at his daughter; she had been quiet the whole car ride. He gets up and moves to the other side of Lucille and sits down next to her. Avery looks over at him but then continues to play with her jacket.  
“Nervous?” he asks her. Avery shrugs.  
“No, not really,” she replies, although the butterflies in her stomach say otherwise.  
“‘Cause, you know, it’s okay to be nervous. In fact, it help you out. Makes you better-as long as you don’t let it get the best of you,” Eliot says, seeing through the façade. “You’re gonna do great.”  
“Thanks,” Avery says. “I just, you know, have to make sure I don’t get killed.”  
“Hey,” Eliot says, waiting for Avery to look at him. “I won’t let anything bad happen to you. I promise. Besides, I wouldn’t have agreed to this, even reluctantly, if I didn’t think you could handle it.”  
“Yeah,” Avery says, feeling better about this whole thing. “Thanks dad.”  
“Good,” Eliot says, squeezing her shoulder. “Let’s go kick some ass.”


	2. Chapter 2

“Name?”  
“Avery Spencer,” Avery says to the woman behind the table. The woman searches a sheet of paper containing a list of all competitors. She finds the name she’s looking for and makes a check mark next to it.   
“I just need you and you father to sign this agreement,” the woman says, handing Shelley the paper. Shelley sets it on the table and signs Eliot’s name and then passes the pen over to Avery and she signs her name as well. Avery hands the woman the paper and she sets it in a pile with other agreements. “All right, you’re all set.”  
“Thanks,” Avery says walking over to an open spot at one of the bleachers. Her and Shelley take a seat and watch the divisions in front of them getting ready. Shelley looks over at Avery, seeing her leg bouncing up and down rapidly.  
“You all right?” he asks.  
“Yep,” Avery says.  
“Nervous at all?” Shelley asks.  
“Nope. Dad’ll make sure nothing bad happens,” Gracilynn replies. Shelley watches her for a moment.  
“Nervous about doing well I mean,” Shelley says, having seen Eliot talking to her earlier in the van. Avery looks over at Shelley.  
“Yeah, a little,” Avery admits.  
“Don’t worry, you’ll do fine. I’ve seen you fight. You’ve got nothing to worry about,” Shelley says.   
“Thanks,” Avery says, giving Shelley a smile.

\---------------------------------------------

“Parker where are you at?” Nate asks into the coms.  
“I’m coming up to Lackey’s office,” Parker says as she crawls along the air duct. She comes to the end and peers inside the room. “There’s no one inside.”  
“Okay, hold tight. After the competitors finish signing in, Lackey collects all of the agreements and cash from the sign-in people and puts it in his office safe. Once he’s done that, then you make your move,” Nate says. “Eliot…”  
There is a sound of something being hit coming over the coms and Nate pauses for a moment. There are a few more hits and grunts before Nate proceeds.  
“Eliot, how are things going on your end?”  
Eliot hits the bald headed guy in the face once more and shoves him to the ground. He brushes his hair back before answering Nate.  
“The center judge is taken care of. I’m all set,” Eliot replies, bending over and dragging the man behind a dumpster where he ties him up and gags him.   
Nate watches as Lackey begins to move from table to table, making sure all competitors have signed in and signed an agreement form. Once he is sure of this and has them all collected, he walks out the door and to his office. Five minutes later, John Lackey appears in the doorway again and grabs a microphone, walking to the center of the gym.   
“Parker, Lackey’s getting ready for his welcome speech. Now’s your chance,” Nate says.  
Parker pops open the air vent and slides out of the duct, dropping noiselessly onto the floor. She walks over to the safe and plugs in the numbers she saw Lackey put in. The door pops open and Parker begins shoving the stacks of money and agreements into her bag. Once done, she shuts the door and throws the bag up into the air vent. Parker pulls out a couple bugs from a pocket and places them inside the room as well as mini video recorders.  
“Are you getting the feed Hardison?” Parker asks.  
“Yeah, we’re good,” Hardison replies from Lucille. Parker hops up onto a table and climbs back into the vent, making her way back the way she came.  
“Okay, everyone. Now we let Eliot do his job and wait,” Nate says, surveying the scene in front of him.  
Eliot walks into the room, dressed in a Martial Arts gi, as Lackey finishes his welcome speech. Eliot walks over to the tables and smiles at the young woman sitting behind them.  
“Hi, I’m Nathan Fallon,” Eliot says, earning a smile from the woman. “I got caught in traffic and wasn’t here for the meeting to find out what ring I’ll be judging in.”  
“Well, let’s take a look,” the woman says, smiling more. She picks up a clipboard and scans the paper. “You’ll be in Ring A. Oh, and it looks like you’ll be judging the black belt division as well.”  
“Yes. Thank you,” Eliot says, shooting her another flirtatious smile. Eliot turns around and begins walking away from the tables. “I’m in Nate.”

\--------------------------------------------------

Avery and Shelley sit on the bleachers watching as Eliot disqualifies competitor after competitor from the gang. Avery looks over at the leader of the gang and can see he’s getting angrier and angrier by the minute. She sees him begin walking over to a couple of men standing near the corner and talk to him. Avery looks back over towards her dad and sees the competitors all lined up and her dad handing out trophies to them. The division disperses and the judges do the same, finding something quick to eat and drink before they have to begin the black belt division.   
Eliot walks out into the hall, sending a reassuring glance towards his daughter before doing so. He turns the corner and something hits him in the head. Eliot stumbles backwards and looks up to see the three men the gang leader were talking to earlier. Eliot growls at them and gets ready for a fight.   
“Bob Alrite doesn’t appreciate being played,” the bigger of the three says of the gang leader.   
“Yeah, well, these parents don’t appreciate their kids being put into the hospital,” Eliot counters, dodging a well-placed fist and hitting the bigger guy in the face. The guy stumbles back and the two smaller guys attack Eliot at the same time. The one on the right throws a hook punch and Eliot blocks it slamming his fist into the guys’ ribs. He turns and blocks three swift punches from the guy on the left, countering it with two to the lower abdomen and an elbow to the face. In the background, he can hear John Lackey’s voice over the microphone.  
“Nathan Fallon? Nathan Fallon. Black belt division is starting. Please report to Ring A.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here’s the next chapter! Oh, and I am going to give you a word bank for certain words in this story. I should’ve done it earlier, but didn’t think of it. I tend to do this a lot when it comes to Martial Arts. I am actually a black belt in two different styles of Martial Arts, so when I talk about it, I forget not everyone knows what I am talking about. 
> 
> Gi- uniform  
> Sensei- teacher/instructor  
> Spar- fighting with control  
> Hajime- begin
> 
> If there are any other words you’re not sure on, please feel free to ask!   
> Enjoy!

Avery stands on the side of the ring with the other contestants, waiting for all of the judges to come back. They were only waiting on one judge and it was the one judge she needed there the most. Lackey had just finished paging her dad but he had still not arrived. Avery looks back at Shelley but he shrugs his shoulders not knowing anything more than she does. She looks around the gym and catches Nate’s eye, silently asking him where her dad is. She sees him say something, most likely into his com to her dad.   
“All right, is everyone ready?” Avery’s head whips around to see another judge standing in front of them. “The center judge that was supposed to be here had an emergency so I am filling in for him. Let’s have everyone line up and we’ll greet everyone in. Then, we can get started.”  
Avery feels the butterflies in her stomach begin to worsen. She looks up to Nate again, but he isn’t where she saw him last. She gets in line with the rest of the black belts and they greet in. After, they all go back to the side of the ring and take a seat and the first two competitors are called up. 

 

“Mr. Lackey?” Nate says as he walks up to John Lackey. Lackey turns around and gives Nate a look.  
“Can I help you?” he asks.  
“Yes, my name is Harold Bonaparte. I have a proposition for you that I think you will be inclined to accept,” Nate says.  
“I am very busy right now, can we talk later?” John Lackey replies, moving as if to go by Nate. Nate steps in his way.  
“I’m afraid not. I am only in town for another hour. It’ll only take five minutes Mr. Lackey,” Nate says. Lackey studies Nate and then lets out a sigh.  
“Fine. Five minutes,” he replies, leading Nate into his office. 

 

Sophie walks over to where Bob Alrite, the leader of Bad Boys, is standing. She makes like she is trying to watch the fight and bumps into him, falling. Alrite catches her before she falls and helps her get her balance back.  
“Oh, I am so sorry. I wasn’t watching where I was going,” Sophie says. Bob Alrite gives Sophie the once over before answering.  
“It’s fine, really,” he says. Sophie gives him a smile and then lets recognition appear on her face.  
“Wait a minute. You’re Bob Alrite,” she says.  
“Yes. Yes I am,” Alrite says, chuckling.  
“It’s such a shame,” Sophie says, acting like Alrite knows what she’s talking about. A confused expression appears on his face.  
“What is?” he asks.  
“Oh, why the fact that John has replaced you,” Sophie says.  
“I’m sorry, what?” Bob asks, anger beginning to rise.   
“Oh my goodness. You haven’t talked to him yet,” Sophie says.  
“No, I haven’t. What do you mean he’s replaced me?” Alrite says.   
“Well, he found someone else who is willing to pay double the amount you are,” Sophie says.  
“I’m sorry, who are you?” Bob asks Sophie.  
“Linda. Linda Lackey,” Sophie says, having heard from Hardison that Alrite had never met Lackey’s wife before. Recognition shows on Alrite’s face.  
“When is he going to replace me?” Bob Alrite asks.  
“He already has. That’s why I’m surprised to see you here,” Sophie says.  
“Is this why my competitor’s keep getting disqualified?” Alrite asks. Sophie nods her head. Alrite looks around the room and notices Lackey going into his office with Nate. “Excuse me.”  
Alrite stomps past Sophie and heads towards the office as Sophie watches him.  
“Here he comes Nate,” Sophie says into her com. She walks over to one of the bleachers and takes a seat next to Shelley and Parker. “How’s she doing?”  
“Good,” Shelley says. “She won her first two matches. Thankfully it wasn’t against one of the gang members.”  
Sophie looks over at the ring and sees Avery step into the ring once again. A boy about her age steps into the ring with the “Bad Boys” logo on the back of his gi top.   
“This is for first and second,” the center judge says loud enough for the room to hear. Avery looks over at the bleachers but still doesn’t see her dad anywhere. Come on dad. Where are you?

\----------------------------------------

The guy on the left collapses to the ground, knocked out from Eliot’s elbow. Eliot turns around and takes a hit to the face, head flinging backwards. The guy on the right smirks and Eliot shakes it off. As the guy charges him, Eliot grabs him and knees him in the ribs and elbows him in the back, knocking him out as well. Eliot looks over to the larger guy and the two of them stare each other down, hands up. They begin to circle and Eliot waits for the guy to make the first move. The big guy throws a punch and Eliot blocks it, aiming one of his own. The guy blocks it, however, and sends another punch, connecting with Eliot’s stomach. Eliot stumbles a little, but straightens up. He throws a sidekick and hits the guy in the stomach, sending him backwards smacking into the wall. The guy shoves himself off and charges at Eliot. Eliot steps to the side and kicks the guy in the knee and smashes his face into the wall behind him. The guy collapses to the floor, holding a broken nose. Needing to get out to his daughter, Eliot walks over and slams his foot into the guys’ face, effectively knocking him out. He looks around but doesn’t see anyone else so he runs down the hall and into the gym.   
“This is for first and second,” Eliot hears the center judge say loudly. He curses himself for taking too long and shoves people out of the way as he makes his way towards the center ring. Once there, he sees Avery along with one of the gang members in fighting stances. The center judge, with his hand between the two competitors, makes sure they are both ready.  
“Hajime!” he shouts, stepping out of the way of the opponents.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Clash- when each opponent’s technique strikes at the same time

Nate and Lackey walk out of Lackey’s office only to run into Alrite. Bob gives Nate a disgusted look and then turns a furious gaze onto Lackey.  
“We need to talk. Now.”  
“Can it wait? The black belt division is starting,” Lackey says.  
“If you don’t talk to me now, I’m going to the cops about your little bribe session going on,” Alrite counters.   
“Excuse us Mr. Bonaparte,” Lackey says. Nate nods his head and watches as John and Bob go back into Lackey’s office.  
“You ready Hardison?” Nate says into his earpiece.  
“Already recording,” Hardison replies.

 

“I don’t know what you think you’re doing Bob,” John Lackey says. “You go to the cops, you go down as well.”  
“Who the hell was that?” Bob Alrite asks, pointing towards the office door.  
“Does it matter? He wanted to talk to me. It’s none of your business who I talk to,” Lackey counters.  
“It is if you’re replacing me with him,” Alrite challenges.  
“Where did you hear that from?” Lackey asks.  
“I have my sources. And they’re very reliable,” Alrite says. “At first I didn’t believe it but seeing every one of my competitors getting disqualified after I paid you says otherwise.”  
“Bob, I don’t know why that was happening. I paid all of the judges. Obviously, I need to take care of some things,” John says.  
“Don’t worry about it,” Bob says angrily. “I’ve already taken care of it. I want my money back. I paid to make sure none of my competitors were disqualified and you ripped me off.”  
Bob Alrite turns around and stomps off, slamming the door behind him. Lackey gets himself together, no use going out there angry, and follows Alrite out the door.

 

As soon as the judge yelled ‘hajime’, Avery’s opponent attacked. Avery blocked a couple punches and through one, tapping him in the kidney.  
“Stop!” yelled a couple judges. Avery and her opponent, Nick, stopped and went back to their starting spots.   
“Judges call!” the center judge says. Three of the five judges show hands pointing to Avery’s side. “Point red!”  
Avery and Nick get back in their fighting stances and the center judge yells ‘hajime’ once again. Avery throws a kick to the midsection, a punch to the face following, but Nick sinks a sidekick into her stomach sending her flying across the ring. Avery lands on her back, looking up to the ceiling.  
“Stop!” all the judges yell. However, before the center judge gets to her side, Avery flips herself up onto her feet and walks back over to her starting spot. Damn that hurt she thinks to herself. She doesn’t spend any more times thinking about it though and quickly gets back into her fighting stance.  
“Judges call!”  
All five judges give Nick the point.  
“One, one!” the center judge shouts. “Hajime!”   
Nick attacks and Avery fades back, side-kicking him in the stomach herself. She stops his momentum but doesn’t send him sprawling like he had done.  
“Stop! Judges call!”   
Avery gets the point this time.  
“Hajime!”  
Nick throws a kick but Avery blocks it, punching him in the ribs, but none of the judges see it. They continue fighting and Avery can see Nick getting angrier and angrier that she is in the lead. Suddenly, Nick throws a spinning hook kick and his heel slams into Avery’s face, knocking her to the ground. Avery catches herself and can taste blood in her mouth. She reaches up and touches her lip, pulling her gloved hand away to see blood on it.   
“Crap,” she says. “Just great.”  
The center judge comes over and makes sure she’s okay. Avery immediately sucks on her bottom lip and stands up.   
“I’m fine,” she says, putting pressure on the cut to get it to stop bleeding. The center judge nods his head.   
“Judges call!”  
This time, Nick gets the point, even though he should’ve been disqualified for excessive contact. Avery gets back into her fighting stance, feeling the bleeding begin to slow down.   
“Hajime!”  
Avery throws a straight kick, but Nick blocks it. Avery follows it up with a straight punch to the face. Nick, however, has the same idea and throws a straight punch to Avery’s face as well. Nick’s punch smashes into her face and Avery feels her head jolt backwards. The judges yell stop. Avery’s hand instantly goes to her nose as she feels something trickle out of it.   
“Great, now my nose is bleeding as well,” Avery mutters.   
“Judges call!”  
Two judges go Avery’s way and another two go Nick’s way. The fifth judge calls it a clash. No points are given.   
“Sensei?” one of the corner judges asks. The center judge looks over at him. “Maybe we should let her take a minute to stop the bleeding?”  
The center judge nods his head. Avery walks over to the side lines where she knew the group was. She feels a pair of hands grab her face and lift it up.   
“Dad?” Avery asks, seeing Eliot standing in front of her, checking out her nose and lip.  
“Hey, sweetheart. Looking good out there,” Eliot says, dabbing at his daughter’s lip to get the last of the blood off. He grabs a handful of paper towels and pinches Avery’s nose with them. “Listen, Nate’s getting you outta here. We’re done.”  
“What? No way!” Avery says, her words muffled by the paper towels. She tries to pull away but Eliot grabs the back of her head and gives her a look.  
“You’re getting hurt. It’s too dangerous. You’re done. ‘Sides, we got what we need,” Eliot says firmly.  
“I’m not quitting. I’m can beat this guy. I’m not gonna let him scare me off,” Avery says. Eliot pulls the paper towels away and notices the bleeding has pretty much stopped.   
“No, Avery,” Eliot says. “Your nose is still bleeding a little.”  
“So shove a piece of paper towel up there and let me get back in there,” Avery says, grabbing another paper towel and holding it on her nose. Eliot looks at his daughter, studying her.  
“Are you ready?” the center judge come over and asks Avery. Before Eliot can speak up, Avery answers him.  
“Yeah, I’m good,” she says, throwing the paper towel in the trash and heading back to the ring.  
“Avery,” Eliot whispers harshly. “Avery.”


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, here’s the last chapter. It’s pretty short but hopefully it wraps it all up. Wasn’t really sure how I wanted to end it so…anyways, this is what came out. Enjoy!
> 
> Dojo- martial arts school

The team walks into Nate’s apartment and Avery drops her bag on the floor by the table. She places her first place trophy on top of the table and Parker comes over and picks it up, looking at it.  
“I still think it’s pretty cool you kicked that guys’ butt,” Parker says. Avery chuckles.   
“Yeah, even after you got hit in the face,” Hardison says walking up to them. Sophie walks over as well.  
“Multiple times,” she says.  
“And you still kept going,” Hardison adds, “I’d be on the floor…”  
“You just can’t let the pain get to you,” Avery says. “Once you start dwelling on it, you lose your focus. The pain becomes twice as bad. If you don’t think about it, it gets pushed to the back of your mind.”  
“And now you can rest,” Sophie says.  
“Until our dojo’s tournament,” Avery replies.  
“You’re still doing it?” Sophie asks, surprised.  
“Of course,” Avery answers. “I’m not gonna let a bruised nose and a split lip prevent me from doing what I love. It’s not like I’m on crutches or anything. It won’t hinder my fighting.”  
“But what if you get hit in the nose again?” Sophie points out.  
“I guess I won’t let it happen then,” Avery replies. “Besides, this is nothing. I once had bruised ribs three times in one year and still did tournaments afterwards.”  
“How did you do that?” Parker asks.  
“I was stupid and didn’t block kicks,” Avery explains. “But I learned my lesson.”  
“Not fast enough, obviously,” Eliot says, walking over to the group.  
“I tend to learn the hard way. Stubbornness. It seems to run in the family,” Avery says, smirking at her dad.  
“Obviously your mothers’ doing,” Eliot says, with a knowing smirk. Avery looks over in time to see Parker reach over to touch her nose. Eliot swats it away, giving her a look.  
“Parker. Don’t touch,” he says.  
“You look like a raccoon,” Parker says to Avery.   
“All right,” Nate says, standing by the stairs, done waiting for everyone to leave. “I’m tired. I’m going to bed. If you guys feel the need to impose on my apartment, at least make yourselves useful.”  
Nate turns around and walks up the stairs to his room. The rest of the team look at each other.  
“I’m going to look for something to eat,” Sophie says, walking into the kitchen.  
“Ooh, does Nate still have cereal?” Parker asks, quickly following after her.  
“I’ll be on my computer,” Hardison says, sitting himself at the bar and starting up his computer, intent on playing some sort of online game. Eliot looks over at his daughter.  
“I think there’s a hockey game on,” Eliot says.  
“Sounds good to me,” Avery says, jumping over the back of the couch and taking a seat. Eliot sits down next to her and begins surfing the channels.  
“That’s not what I meant!” Nate’s voice yells from upstairs.


End file.
